Vietnam Hoi An coconut boat: essential guide to avoid overpaying

Taking a basket boat tour through the water coconut forest is one of the must-do cultural experiences in Hoi An, Vietnam. However, prices for Hoi An coconut boat rides vary, and many operators overcharge tourists on the spot. If you are unaware of the fair rate, you might end up paying way more than you should, sometimes double or even triple the fair price. To help you avoid tourist traps, this guide covers the reasonable cost of a Hoi An coconut boat tour, along with the basic itinerary and honest reviews of the tour.

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What are the Hoi An basket boats?

The cute round boats you will see in Hoi An are handwoven from bamboo and are the traditional basket boats used by locals as river transportation. Nowadays, taking a basket boat along the coconut forest has become one of the must-try experiences for travellers visiting Central Vietnam- Hoi An & Da Nang.

What is the reasonable price for a Hoi An coconut boat tour?

The reasonable price for the Hoi An coconut boat tour is 150,000- 170,000 VND per person. But the operators on the spot tend to overcharge tourists, way more than it is supposed to be if you didn’t know the fair rate.

Take our experience as an example: we forgot to buy coconut boat tickets online in advance, so we tried purchasing them on-site. In the beginning the tour operator quoted us 350,000 VND per person (cash only—no credit cards accepted).

However, I remembered seeing the price on this booking platform listed at just 150,000 VND per person. Since we were also low on cash, we showed the operator the advertised rate. After some back-and-forth, she grudgingly agreed to 150,000 VND/person, though she wasn’t happy about it.

Our case was not the only one, I’ve also heard from other travellers that the operators offer different prices to them, which are all more than it should be, compared to online ticket platforms.

If you don’t like to bargain with the operators and do not want to carry much Vietnamese Dong with you- my genuine suggestion is to buy the Hoi An basket boat tickets from this reliable online ticket platform in advance so you can avoid price negotiation on site.

Where are the best places to buy reliable tickets for the Hoi An coconut boat tour?

Usually if you buy it from this platform you can even get the discounted price for the Hoi An coconut boat tour, which is even cheaper than 150,000 VND per person. The platform also provides optional pick-up & drop-off service from your hotel in Hoi An, to bring you directly to the coconut boat boarding location so you don’t have to worry about how to get there or if you’d go to the wrong places.

I use that platform to buy my tour tickets in advance most of the time, and had no problems with it. I’d highly recommend you to try it too.

The basic itinerary of Hoi An basket boat tour in the Coconut Forest

The Hoi An Coconut Forest basket boat tour typically includes a 45-minute to 1-hour ride through the picturesque water coconut palms and past charming riverside villages.

During your trip, you might also experience fun activities like singing karaoke (KTV) on the river, watching skilled locals spin the basket boats, and seeing locals throw fishing nets.

Hoi An basket boat review

for me! As a huge coconut tree lover, I had never seen a water coconut forest before—and the colourful bamboo basket boats made the journey even more special. I couldn’t stop taking photos throughout the entire ride!

Our boatman was so cute and funny. He even took us to a special photo spot, helped us step off the boat, and captured pictures and videos of us balancing on wooden sticks right in the middle of the water!

We also got to watch the funny spinning basket boat, listen to tourists singing karaoke in the middle of the forest, and see locals demonstrate traditional net fishing—all are pretty interesting. We had a lot of fun and loved the journey even though it was under heavy rain (a big umbrella was provided by the tour).

If you plan to visit Central Vietnam, don’t miss this unique and fun adventure!

How to visit Hoi An’s Coconut Forest for a basket boat ride?

By taxi

After purchasing your tickets in advance here, you can order a taxi via Grab app (it’s like Uber but in SouthEast Asia) and choose the destinations that’s shown on the tour ticket. Once you get into the taxi, make sure to double confirm with the driver that you’ve booked the certain tickets and have to go to the specific location (otherwise taxi drivers may bring you to other coconut boat operators).

If the driver doesn’t speak English, you can use Google Translator, which is the way many locals in Vietnam use it to communicate with tourists.

By joining a tour with hotel pick-up & drop-off

If you don’t want to worry about how to get to the coconut forest and if you will be heading to the right location, you can simply book the Hoi An coconut boat tour on this reliable platform and choose the option with hotel pick-up & drop-off.

Is tipping expected for the coconut boat tours in Hoi An?

Tips are not compulsory for the basket boat ride in Hoi An, it’s completely up to you. However, our boatman was really funny and nice. We enjoyed the journey with him so we gave him 2 USD notes (about 50K VND) as a little tip.

Overall, we really enjoyed the Hoi An basket boat ride along the Coconut Forest, and would definitely recommend the tour to you. Hope you will enjoy as much as we did and have a safe, fun trip!!